This deal makes sense for the Cardinals. They have the money available to sign one of last year's MVP candidates and this will buy out his arbitration years and 2 years of free agency. There is a little risk here though, as noted previously; Carpenter only has one full season of experience under his belt and it would be pretty remarkable for him to match last years results.

Overall, this is a smart move by the team. The official deal will be announced at 10 a.m. CST this morning.

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Eugene Tierney has written online for the last 10 years, first at InsidePulse.com and then at his own site 85percentsports.com; he now focuses on the MLB Draft at MLBDraftTracker.com. He's a life long Cardinals fan. In addition to writing, he also has a large memorabilia collection, including autographs and analysis books. He is a member of the IBWAA and the BBA.